As first reported by Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Royals have signed 24-year-old catcher Francisco Pena to a minor league contract.

The Mets signed Pena out of the Dominican Republic when he was 16 years old for a hefty bonus of $750,000. The son of former major league All-Star Tony Pena, he never quite excelled in the Mets’ minor league system and was passed over again during this year’s round of September call-ups.